During drilling, sections of drill pipe are secured together at their tool joints. The tool joints are the threaded connector portions of each section of pipe and have enlarged outer diameters at their connector portions. Certain types of high strength drill pipe, such as S-135 classification drill pipe, have one or more milled slots surrounding the outer diameter. The slots are circumferential, concave grooves which merely designate the material of the drill pipe and do not serve any other function. The slots have a variety of sizes, but are approximately 3/8 inch deep and 1/2 inch wide. Each slot has relatively sharp upper and lower corner edges and a curved base.
In one type of drilling, the drill pipe passes through a drilling head located at the drilling rig. The drilling head has a rotatable section that grips and seals around the drill pipe. When run through the drilling head, the sharp edges of the slots can severely damage the gripping and sealing members located inside the drilling head. Thus, an apparatus and/or method for reducing damage to the drilling head is needed.